职场心计文学梦（2020）

He would start with the movie reviews,
然后是街谈巷议的话题，
and then turn to “The Talk of the Town,”
然后是花边新闻。
and then the features.
在大学里，每个人都喜欢《纽约客》。
In college, everyone was into The New Yorker.
你好！
Hi!
我老板要我确保这封信马上送到。
My boss wanted me to make sure this was delivered right away.
谢谢你！
Thank you!
我还能为您做些什么吗？
Can I help you with something else?
不。不！
No. No!
不，不，就这些，谢谢。
No, no, that was it, thanks.
我在阿尔冈昆酒店给他端马提尼。
I was at the Algonquin serving him a martini.
不管怎样，我用我的《时尚杂♥志♥》 ID进入房♥间。
Anyway, I used my Cosmo ID to get in the room.
我认出了那个代理。他没有认出我来。
I recognized the agent. He did not recognize me.
我们整晚都在谈论威廉的惨死
And we spent the evening talking about William’s tragic death
和代理。
and the agency.
然后呢？
And?
我失去了我在《时尚杂♥志♥》的工作
And I lost my job at Cosmo
因为第二天早上没来。
for not showing up the next morning.
但我保留了他的名片
But I kept the man’s card,
一年后，我给他打了个电♥话♥……
and a year later, I gave him a call at the agency…
嗨……
Hi…
……他雇了我。
…and he hired me.
剩下的就是历史了。乔安娜，怎么了？
And the rest is history. Joanna, what is it?
—出什么事了吗？—没有。
– Is something wrong? – No.
她从旁边走过，看上去又冷又饿，又孤苦伶仃。
She was walking by, looking cold and hungry and forlorn.
我邀请她进来。乔安娜，请坐。
I invited her in. Joanna, please sit.
我不想打断你们。
I don’t want to interrupt.
别傻了。这是我妻子海伦。
Don’t be silly. This is my wife, Helen.
很高兴认识你。
Nice to meet you.
我们只是在回忆，
We were just reminiscing,
讲述迷惘一代的故事：
telling tales about the lost generation:
海明威，菲茨杰拉德。
Hemingway, Fitzgerald.
你知道菲茨杰拉德的代理公♥司♥吗？
Do you know the agency represented Fitzgerald?
是的，还有迪伦·托马斯，
Yes, and Dylan Thomas,
兰斯顿·休斯，阿加莎·克里斯蒂。
Langston Hughes, Agatha Christie.
你当然读过他们所有的作品了？
And you’ve read all their work, of course?
然而，我的老板建议说，我有
I have, however, my boss suggests
我读的都是活着的作家。
that I read writers that are alive.
说到活着的作家，
Speaking of living writers,
你认识瑞秋·卡斯克吗？
are you familiar with Rachel Cusk?
别上当，乔安娜。
Don’t take the bait, Joanna.
不，我是。是的，我是，我是！
No, I am. Yes, I am, I am!
嗯，她的第一部小说《拯救艾格尼丝》非常成功。
Uh, her first novel, Saving Agnes, was huge.
我想它赢得了惠特布莱德奖。
It won the Whitbread, I think.
我在伦敦认识的每个人都在读这本书。
And everyone that I knew in London was reading it.
基本上，这就是我们的生活。或者是……这是我的……我的生活。
It was our lives, basically. Or it was… it was my… my life.
是关于什么的？
What is it about?
嗯……
Um…
这绝对是一个关于成长的故事。
Well, it’s a coming-of-age tale, definitely.
我想是关于
I guess it’s about the ways in which
女人需要克服对自己身体的自我厌恶。
women need to get over this self-loathing of their bodies.
我觉得更多的是关于父权制
I’d say it’s more about how the patriarchy
强加了刻板而可怕的女性化观念
imposes rigid and terrifying ideas of femininity
年轻女性，
onto young women,
那是如何使他们瘫痪，剥夺他们的尊严。
how that paralyzes them and strips them of their dignity.
我不知道。我不觉得这是在说教。
I don’t know. It doesn’t feel quite that didactic to me.
这是一本非常内省的小说。
It’s a very introspective novel.
读起来不像是社会评论。
It doesn’t really read like social commentary.
好的。乔安娜，这是瑞秋·卡斯克。
OK. Joanna, meet Rachel Cusk.
你好。
Hello.
不，不。我很抱歉。
No, no. I’m so sorry.
没关系。很高兴认识你。
It’s OK. It’s lovely to meet you.
你自己就是小说家？
You’re a novelist yourself?
乔安娜是我的助手。我不雇作家。
Joanna is my assistant. I don’t hire writers.
—我很挑剔的。—真的吗？
– I’m very particular about it. – Really?
我想所有的出版助理
I thought all publishing assistants
在他们的书桌上写小说。
were writing novels at their desks.
如果你能在你的书桌上写一本小说
If you can write a novel at your desk
给玛格丽特这样的暴君倒咖啡，祝你好运。
while getting coffee for a tyrant like Margaret, good luck.
你一定要热爱它。
You really have to love it.
在这世上，你最想要的就是它，
You have to want it more than anything in the entire world,
不只是男朋友
more than a boyfriend
或者一个装满漂亮衣服的衣橱
or a closet full of pretty dresses
或者是一份让所有人羡慕的好工作。
or a fancy job that makes everyone jealous.
你需要接受被拒绝
You need to be OK with saying no
当你被邀请参加聚会的时候。
when you’re invited to a party.
而且你真的需要没事
And you really need to be OK
你父母都恨你！
with your mother and father hating you!
乔安娜，你不是要听写吗？
Joanna, don’t you have dictation to finish?
是的，我喜欢。
Yes, I do.
玛格丽特……
Margaret…
那些圣马丁的合同备忘录
Those St. Martin’s contract memos
我得马上出去。
need to go out immediately.
绝对的。很高兴认识你。谢谢你！
Absolutely. It was nice to meet you. Thank you.
—再见！—再见，乔安娜！
– Bye! – Goodbye, Joanna!
很高兴认识你。
Lovely to meet you.
啊！
Ah!
你好！
Hi!
你有一封信，
You got a letter,
你高中时的恋人，卡尔。
from your high school sweetheart, Karl.
他知道我们的事吗？
Does he know about us?
是的，我肯定提过。
Yeah, I’m sure I mentioned it.
乔安娜，你和他分手了吗？
Joanna, did you break up with him?
就像正式的分手：
Like a proper break up:
“亲爱的卡尔，不是你的问题，是我的问题。
“Dear Karl, it’s not you, it’s me.
我很抱歉。一切都结束了。”
I’m sorry. It’s over.”
你知道的，正常的东西？
You know, the normal stuff?
我们三个月没说过话了。
We haven’t talked in 3 months.
他也知道我不会回加州了。
And he knows that I’m not going back to California.
嗯……
Um…
你跟女房♥东谈过暖气的事了吗？
Did you talk to the landlady about the heating?
“你为什么需要加热器？”
“Why do you need a heater?
你的爱应该让你温暖。”
Your love should keep you warm.”
我曾经希望你能有时间给我回信，
I was hoping you might find the time to write back,
但我敢打赌你一定收到了很多信。
but I bet you must be getting a lot of letters.
但我想再写一次，如果你不介意的话，
But I feel like writing again, if you don’t mind me doing so,
因为，嗯，我觉得非常沮丧。
’cause, um, well, I feel depressed as hell.
我觉得这是诚实的做法。
And I figured it was the honest thing do.
你的角色是文学作品中唯一的角色
Your characters are the only ones in literature
和我一样的人
who are truly like me.
我的意思是，他们会采取行动。
I mean, they take action.
他们不会坐在那里考虑自杀。
They don’t sit around contemplating suicide.
他们拿起枪，朝自己的头开枪。
They pick up a gun and they shoot themselves in the head.
他是具有挑战性的杰里。
He’s challenging Jerry.
这只是个游戏，你会上当的。
It’s a game, and you’re falling for it.
我觉得这孩子应该得到应有的回应，
I feel this boy just deserves a proper response,
不是我们平常说的那种屁话。
not our usual bullshit.
屁话吗？
Bullshit?
你把判断力和同理心混为一谈了。
You are confusing judgment with empathy.
我读过几百封这样的信。
I have read hundreds of letters just like this one.
它会让你不知所措，但还是要做好你的工作。
It can get overwhelming, but just do your job.
你把我的信发给塞林格先生了吗？
Did you send my letter to Mr. Salinger?
你把我的信寄给塞林格了吗？
Did you send my letter to Salinger?
你没有权利保留我的信！
You have no right to keep my letter!
你不能看别人的邮件！
You can’t read other people’s mail!
我还指望你能确认呢。
I was at least expecting a confirmation.
亲爱的塞林格先生，我讨厌学校，
Dear Mr. Salinger, I hate school,
特别是英语课。
especially English class.
《麦田里的守望者》是我唯一喜欢的书
Catcher in the Rye is the only book I liked.
我的老师要给我不及格
My teacher is going to make me flunk.
她说要让我留级，